Journal Club: The Space Between

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I missed the last of Hinterland’s Journaling Club nights because it clashed with the recent solar eclipse – I’d seen that from Hartshead on the Oldham / Ashton border.  This time, on the 23rd, I got some food and got seated, just about. Popular event. The theme this time: 

THE SPACE BETWEEN 

Organiser Fi asks the group, when an event happens, what do I do before I react? What occurs in that space? The first writing prompt of the night: 

WHEN I HAVE TO WAIT, I FEEL  

Usually impatient. I’m not a good waiting person. My normal reaction to these times is, ‘can I use this time to my advantage? Can I read? Write? Or am I going to reach for my phone as per?’ Why do I feel this discomfort with inaction? I’ve wasted so much time on the internet over the years, why do I have this horrible feeling of life slipping away from me? Just because I have to wait and have nothing to keep me busy? Also, why am I forgetting how to chew? I’ve nearly choked about 8 times this week. 

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Next up, a discussion and a few pointers on the board: 

• Culture of immediacy 

• Speed = value? 

•  Waiting as an active process 

• Something happens [gap] response 

• Space                 

• Not avoidance 

Next, a 6-minute prompt: 

‘THE SPACE BETWEEN FEELING SOMETHING AND ACTING ON IT IS…’  

In that space, what kicks into effect is known as ‘inner game.’ Inner game is like your metaphorical ‘engine under the hood,’ your psychology, your ability to regulate your own emotions, act on them? Will you steady your breath, pause, analyse the situation and deal with it in an appropriate manner? Sometimes, responding immediately can mean you react angrily, based on emotion, lacking critical thinking. But other times, you can pause, plan to speak up properly about someone’s behaviour, but then end up putting it off, stewing on it. Where’s the middle ground for this?   Am I starting to sound like The Log Lady from Twin Peaks? 

- 

Next up on the board, the title: 

SPACE IS VALUE 

Under this, a list of prompt words. 

NOW 

DISTANCE 

MOMENT 

STILL

HOLD 

SOON 

LATER 

ECHO 

CREATE 

EVENTUALLY 

SEASON 

HESITATE 

PAUSE 

In a 10 minute burst, we wrote something with these words as prompts, on the theme of ‘Space is Value.’ I decided to make it extra difficult for myself and put it into rhyme.  

Pen to paper, words, they form fast 

Space is value, forming a contrast 

A month of excess, time is all filled, 

But now in the moment, pause and fall still 

Pen to the pad, now a time to create 

No time in this vegan café to hesitate 

Alcohol-free night, reprieve for the liver 

Between all the lines, inspiration delivers 

Breathe, retrieve words mentally 

Sentences form on the page eventually 

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And that is as far as I got in the time we had. I read it out to the group; they seemed to like it. 

Great to be back at Hinterland’s events. I’ve missed being creative, and I’ve missed their food too. I also listed the event on the Manc Mates meetup group and got a couple of attendees. No confirmation if they were at the actual event. 

Journal Club is back on the 14th.

Come to the new Australasia Bar Saturday

Leilani May liked my guess at her ethnicity. No confirmation yet. 

Looks like Spinningfields bar Australasia has had another refurb. Hence, let’s take a look this coming Saturday with Manchester Nightlife. I’m taking a look there with the Meetup group. Cocktails, quiet house music and good décor. 9pm Saturday.

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On the blog: a review of the small but fantastic Comic Con North East that took place over the weekend. I was there on Saturday. I’m on leave today to write it all up. Found a good museum too. I’ve also got a write-up of a recent journaling event, and an update on this ridiculous Excess project.

Excess Month 2026 Take 2

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I had some plans for the year of being 44 but forgot to include 1 thing that it seems is once again necessary: an ‘Excess Month’ involving a load of drinking. I have a cupboard full of alcohol, mostly whiskies, and genuinely have no space for more. Quite a few of these bottles are about 7/8ths empty. It’s time to make a bit of space by drinking it as much as possible.  

What an enjoyable challenge! I may crack open the Get High Now Without Drugs book and see if there are any potential experiments I could attempt, and power through a few books and movies on that theme too. There are other books in my To Be Read pile that fit the theme quite well. I might also try to get to some conventions that are a little further afield, requiring a hotel. 

I’m going to try to counter the onslaught of my liver with plenty of fruit and vegetables. I currently weigh 81.8kg. For fitness I’ll largely be trying to beat a dips record of 170. I doubt I will, but it’s a great movement for watching films. The bar is already set up in front of the TV. 

An expensive month awaits.

Journal Club, Comic Con NE, Lee Child in Todmorden

A lot of travel this week. 

Wednesday: Journal Club returns to Hinterland in the Northern Quarter for a night of writing. There’s usually prompts, with 10 minute writing bursts and the opportunity to share your writing with the group. Meetup group Manc Mates are attending – there’s 2 of us at the time of writing. Hinterland is a great, cosy restaurant serving vegan food, no alcohol and a quiet atmosphere. The antidote to today’s hectic Manchester environment. 

I’ll be starting a new month-long project on Saturday that should keep me very busy. And drunk. 

But before the alcohol consumption begins… a trip up north to Newcastle for a Monopoly Events convention. Comic Con North East sees a range of TV and movie stars fly in, including Alan Ford, or Brick Top from Snatch. That’s who I’ll be meeting.

I’ll probably have a wander around the city too afterwards. Amazing place. 

Todmorden Book Festival starts Friday with Jack Reacher creator Lee Child opening the proceedings at the town’s Hippodrome. Intriguing. It all seems to go downhill from there with a roster of obscurities, the only other anomaly being former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, which has raised a few eyebrows over socials. I work in healthcare AND I have a disability. I don’t remember his policies helping me or my clients. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

But yes. Newcastle will be awesome.

Weirdness at Nostalgic Oldham

 

Highlight of this week has been not starving into oblivion on that ridiculous Machinist Diet that ended Tuesday – but as a result I’ve already put on 4kg. 

Wednesday I tried to get to the launch of Clean Greens health food spot on Deansgate, but they’d ran out of food and were closing for a few hours while they restocked. I was starving, so went next door to Egg & Co for an egg sandwich. Simple. Fantastic.

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Saturday: a day of retro entertainment in Parliament Square with Nostalgic Oldham, featuring a cross dressing nun, classic cars, steam engines and Morris men. Funnier and more interesting than I had expected tbf. 

 

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The Machinist Diet is Complete… sorta

A month ago I set a challenge to diet down to a weight target by eating only a can of tuna and an apple every day. This was, if the DVD is correct, how actor Christian Bale prepared for his skeletal role in 2004’s The Machinist. 

 I started this on the 15th August. I know through experience that diets can be hugely wasteful if you’ve already got food in your fridge and freezer, as diets can end up lasting longer than you might expect and stuff goes off. So I alternated. A can of tuna and an apple for tea one day, a full meal from the fridge freezer the next. Very steadily, the weight started to drop. 

The month-long project ended with a deadline of 15th September. I started at 86.2kg and ended at 77.6kg. I had been 76.9kg at one point. A lot of skipping and gym classes kept me burning calories. The classes were HARD when you’ve hardly eaten anything, and skipping just gets very clumsy and it’s hard to work up a sweat when you’re constantly tripping over the rope through exhaustion. 

It becomes more confusing when you’re watching the first 2 seasons of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, trying to follow the incomprehensible plot.

 

But the diet is over now, and for the moment, I’m eating what I want. Weight is predictably flying back up, but I’m finding I’m fuller much quicker. A stomach has the tendency to shrink when virtually nothing goes in it. 

I may try The Machinist Diet again next year, by depleting the freezer first and solidly sticking to 1 can of tuna and 1 apple every evening.

Second Sheffield Comic Con '26

After February’s convention, Comic Con Sheffield returned to Ponds Forge for another day of celebs, stalls, talks and photo ops. This time, Red Dwarf’s The Cat – Danny John Jules – posed for photos. 

DJJ also played Baldy’s Lookout in prison movie Scum – the guy who lets Carlin (Ray Winstone in his breakout role) into the coal room to fight the number 2 guy. I would have liked to ask him about that but there was no Q+A for him. 

I’ll tell you who *did* do one, unsurprisingly... Boom-voiced actor 89-year-old Brian Blessed gave pretty much the same talk that he did in For the Love of Sci Fi back in 2019. 

Paul Chuckle of The Chuckle Brothers also made a guest appearance.

 

 A small but fun Creed Conventions event. 

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